Mid-torque servo brake will help to compete with spring-loaded rivals
30 April 2026 
Kendrion, the German specialist in electromagnetic components, fluid technologies and control systems, has developed a compact permanent magnet brake for servomotors with low-to-medium torque levels, which uses use the same mechanical and electrical interface as it high-torque brakes. This allows different torque ranges to be covered with a similar brake technology without having to redesign motors. Users pay only for the exact torque they need for an application.
Kendrion says that in a market where product variety and cost pressures are rising simultaneously, there is a need for cost-effective brake concepts. It points out that around 70% of servomotor applications are in the low-to-mid torque range. The new Slim PM brake is aimed at high-volume applications such as automation, robotics, conveyors and packaging machines.
The new brakes are up to 25% shorter than the company’s high-torque brakes and weigh up to 30% less. They are also up to 15% cheaper. The brakes are aimed at applications in the 2.7–17Nm torque range, compared to the 0.1–280Nm range of Kendrion’s high-torque brakes.
The new brakes will allow servomotor manufacturers to expand their modular braking systems in the low-to-mid torque range without incurring extra costs for design, assembly or documentation. Instead of having to master different braking technologies, they will be able to use a single system architecture, simplifying the scaling of motor families.
Another potential attraction is that the new brake will allow European manufacturers to compete with cheaper spring-loaded brakes often used in the Asian market. Kendrion aims to offer the new brakes “within a cost framework that was previously more feasible with spring-loaded brakes”.
The new brake is said to combine standardisation, cost-effectiveness and a precisely tailored design. Kendrion has designed the brake’s magnetic circuit from scratch, simplifying both its use of materials and its production processes, thus cutting manufacturing costs. The brake offers an extended temperature range and uses the same motor interface as Kendrion’s proven high-torque permanent magnet brakes.
Kendrion is currently working with several customers to integrate the new brake into both new motors and existing platforms.
“We wanted to develop a permanent magnet brake that could be seamlessly integrated into existing structures,” explains Kendrion product manager, Waldemar Schaermann. “The Slim PM is therefore not intended as a standalone solution, but as a complement to our High Torque Line. Two brakes, one system – that’s our approach.”
